Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Call To Struggle….for Water….for Life

The following is a communication from the Adivasi Samrakshana Sangham and the Plachimada Struggle Solidarity Committee:

Plachimada reels under water shortage. Chittur taluk, where Plachimada is located, was declared a ‘notified area’ on 19 November 2005 under the Kerala Ground Water Act. The area was classified “over exploited.” This followed the poisoning and depletion of ground water by Coca Cola. In 2004, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Waste ordered Coca Cola to provide piped water to the affected families in Plachimada. Coca Cola never carried out this order. Instead of taking action against Coca Cola, the government declared the Rs.4 crores Plachimada Water Project a year back much to the relief of the people of Plachimada. Coca Cola too must have rejoiced.

A year went by after the government announced the Plachimada Water Project. But the project is not even conceived. If there were no funds available for the project, why was the project announced? To cheat the people? To appease Coca Cola? Once again the government betrays the people.

Till date the government has not taken any step to prosecute Coca Cola for any of their numerous violations of numerous laws. Coca Cola has been allowed to pillage and pollute ground water making huge profits. It destroyed lives, livelihood and ecology. The government allowed the criminal Cola to romp free. Its victims continue to be victimized. Our struggle for water, a source of life, continues….

We, the Plachimada Struggle Solidarity Committee demand:

 Plachimada Water Project must be completed in a time-bound manner to urgently remedy the water-shortage; Take immediate measures to prosecute Coca-Cola for environment contamination and pollution, and water-pilferage; Recover the compensation due from Coca-Cola company for destruction of water, lives, livelihood and destruction of ecology.

Mayilamma, the legendary pillar of Plachimada Struggle, left us to carry the mantle of the struggle on 6 January. We carry forward her legacy… for the right to water and right to live with dignity.

On this day, 6 January 2010, we march and hold a dharna before the Palakkad District Collectorate at 11 A.M, remembering her.

We request the participation of all in this peoples struggle to survive with dignity.

1 comment:

I totally agree with the people.eventhough I am late, I too think that the government is not taking these problems seriously,not only d 1 @ plachimada,but the endosulfan problem also.it is a miracle that India took a positive position on endosulfan @ d conference even though there was a raising tension in the country against endosulfan.best of luck.

As Editorial Adviser to Asianet television
channel (1994-1999), set up News division, recruited and trained staff
and supervised their work for five years; also presented a media watch
programme with writer Paul Zacharia as co-anchor.

As Adviser to Focus India Features, Bangalore, accredited for supply of news and features to Doordarshan,
New Delhi (1989-1992), supervised production of innumerable news clips
and two half-hour video documentaries telecast on the national network.

Adapted Malayalam novelist
Takazhi's epic novel "Kayar" for Hindi serial of the same name,
directed by M. S. Sathyu and telecast on the national network in 1989.

Newspaper experience

As Consultant and Director of The Andhra Pradesh Times,
Hyderabad (1996-1997) recruited all staff from Editor down to trainees
and worked out editorial and management strategies which helped the
paper to make a big impact. The paper was forging ahead when the two
partners, each of whom held 50% shares, fell out leading to its closure.

As Assistant Editor, Patriot,
New Delhi (1963-1965) introduced columns on Science and Rural Affairs;
organized intensive coverage of Delhi which helped the paper become the
capital's third largest paper in just three months (a position which it
could not retian for long ). Special news coverage: Interview with
Indira Gandhi (1963); Immersion of Nehru's Ashes at Sangam (1964).

Sub-Editor, The Statesman,
New Delhi (1959-1963). Writings: Edit Page articles on Japan's post war
reconstruction (1959) and the Philippines (based on visits to these
countries).

Sub-Editor, The Hindu, Chennai (1953-1958)

News Agency experience

Recruited to United News of India,
then a fledgling agency, in 1966 by Kuldip Nayar, who was Editor and
General Manager, served the agency for 18 years, making a significant
personal contribution to its growth during the period.

While
serving as UNI's Regional Manager for the South at Chennai (1978-1984)
undertook three visits to the Gulf States, signing up as subscribers
newspapers, a radio station and news agency in UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Special news coverage: Solidarity movement in Poland (1980) Ethnic
riots in Sri Lanka (1981); Police-Naxalite encounters in Dharmapuri
(1981).

Regional Manager, Mumbai (1972-1973). Special coverage: Tour of drought-hit areas of Maharashtra with George Fernandes (1973).

As
News Editor at the agency's headquarters in New Delhi (1968-1972),
supervised the work of the national and regional desks and bureaus all
across the country with emphasis on "speed with accuracy";
organized special news service to meet the needs of Indian publications
in North America. Special coverage: Man landing on Moon (1969), Prime
Minister's visits to Japan and Indonesia (1969) and UN (1970), Pakistan
developments (1971-72); and Bangladesh liberation (1971).

As Consultant to India Abroad News Service (now Indo-Asian News Service) spent two months in New York (1988), helping the agency and its parent weekly India Abroad to evolve appropriate editorial strategies.

Wrote columns at different times for various publications in English and Malayalam.

Publications

"Flourishing
Papers, Floundering Craft", an essay in the book "Practising
Journalism: Values, Constraints, Implications", edited by Dr. Nalini
Rajan and published by Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2005.

"The
Media Under Pressure", an essay in the book "Courts Legislatures Media
Freedom", edited by K. N. Hari Kumar and published by National Book
Trust, New Delhi, 2006. പി ന്തിഞ്ഞോടുന്ന കേരളം (Pinthirinjnjodunna Keralam), book in Malayalam, published by Haritham Books, Kozhikode, 2003.

ചരിത്രം നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടവർ (Charithram Nashtappettavar), book in Malayalam, published by Green Books, Thrissur, 2016 ഗുരു നാനക് (Guru Nanak), Malayalam translation of biography by Gopal Singh, published by National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1967

സുബ്രഹ്മണ്യ ഭാരതി (Subramania Bharati), Malayalam translation of biography by Prema Nandakumar, published by National Book Trust, 1968.